Raiders inch closer to Panhandle No. 3 seed, wild-card spot

Northwest Florida State College's Danny Blanco snags an infield ground ball during Monday night's game against The Gulf Coast State College Commodores.

DEVON RAVINE / Daily News

By TRAVIS MEWHIRTER / Daily News

Published: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 03:40 PM.

No more than 30 minutes into Monday night’s baseball game between Northwest Florida State and Gulf Coast State, a Raider fan took a rather considerable leap of faith: He left.

Never mind the fact that the Raiders were 0-4 against the Commodores on the year, 14 batters were all he deemed necessary to see in Niceville. He had stuck around just long enough to see Brian Browning sit down three straight Gulf Coast State batters and the bats come alive for the Raiders.

Jack Crittenberger pounded a leadoff home run for Northwest Florida State, which preceded a litany of hits and runs for the host Raiders. Steve Jernigan knocked in Kodi Russ and then joined Tanner Holstead at home plate after a Danny Bianco single scored them both; Ryan Fucci cleared the bases with a hard hit grounder that found its way through the Gulf Coast short stops legs; and he was later batted in by Ty Russ to make the score 6-0 before the Commodores recorded their second out.

So, after the first inning, the Raiders leading by a comfortable 6-0 margin, the fan sauntered off to his car. Six innings later, his confidence was vindicated as Danny Blanco hit a solo shot to left field to make the score 9-1 and end the game by slaughter rule.

“Came out the gates hot,” said Crittenberger, who finished 2-4. “Putting up six in the first, that never hurts. Just try to manufacture some runs, give [Browning] the lead and let him work from there.”

Though coach Doug Martin was quick to note that the win did not clinch a wild card spot for the Raiders, it would take a minor miracle in Tallahassee Community College’s favor for Northwest Florida State’s season to end early. For the Raiders to clinch they can win Wednesday at Tallahassee, a venue at which they are 0-2 on the year, or the Eagles can lose either one of their final two remaining games, both against Gulf Coast State. Either would do.

“This is a real big week for us,” Martin said. “We got the first one, got the first of the week. It’s still incredibly up in the air. We gotta go [to Tallahassee] and win over there and try to win that ball game but they’ve come out on top a couple times at their place and we’ve beat them twice here so we’re going to have to win one on the road to win the series. I’d feel a lot better with a win tomorrow.”

Monday took a much different path than the Raiders’ previous four meetings with the Commodores. Gulf Coast State had beaten them by margins of 6-5, 9-5, 5-0, and 7-6, battering the Northwest Florida State pitching for at least eight hits in each. Browning, though, brought his best stuff — the changeup, he noted, in particular — when the stakes were highest.

“I was real, real proud of what Brian Browning was able to do,” Martin said. “They can swing the bat. They’ve done it all year long and really it should have been all goose-eggs but I was real proud of what we did today.”

Browning sat down the first six Gulf Coast State batters, carried a one-hitter into the sixth, and limited the Commodores to their lowest scoring output in 40 games.

“I was happy to be on a good note pitching,” Browning said. “My last couple outings haven’t been the best so it feels good to be back in the lower hit column. I really got it going and it felt good tonight.”

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No more than 30 minutes into Monday night’s baseball game between Northwest Florida State and Gulf Coast State, a Raider fan took a rather considerable leap of faith: He left.

Never mind the fact that the Raiders were 0-4 against the Commodores on the year, 14 batters were all he deemed necessary to see in Niceville. He had stuck around just long enough to see Brian Browning sit down three straight Gulf Coast State batters and the bats come alive for the Raiders.

Jack Crittenberger pounded a leadoff home run for Northwest Florida State, which preceded a litany of hits and runs for the host Raiders. Steve Jernigan knocked in Kodi Russ and then joined Tanner Holstead at home plate after a Danny Bianco single scored them both; Ryan Fucci cleared the bases with a hard hit grounder that found its way through the Gulf Coast short stops legs; and he was later batted in by Ty Russ to make the score 6-0 before the Commodores recorded their second out.

So, after the first inning, the Raiders leading by a comfortable 6-0 margin, the fan sauntered off to his car. Six innings later, his confidence was vindicated as Danny Blanco hit a solo shot to left field to make the score 9-1 and end the game by slaughter rule.

“Came out the gates hot,” said Crittenberger, who finished 2-4. “Putting up six in the first, that never hurts. Just try to manufacture some runs, give [Browning] the lead and let him work from there.”

Though coach Doug Martin was quick to note that the win did not clinch a wild card spot for the Raiders, it would take a minor miracle in Tallahassee Community College’s favor for Northwest Florida State’s season to end early. For the Raiders to clinch they can win Wednesday at Tallahassee, a venue at which they are 0-2 on the year, or the Eagles can lose either one of their final two remaining games, both against Gulf Coast State. Either would do.

“This is a real big week for us,” Martin said. “We got the first one, got the first of the week. It’s still incredibly up in the air. We gotta go [to Tallahassee] and win over there and try to win that ball game but they’ve come out on top a couple times at their place and we’ve beat them twice here so we’re going to have to win one on the road to win the series. I’d feel a lot better with a win tomorrow.”

Monday took a much different path than the Raiders’ previous four meetings with the Commodores. Gulf Coast State had beaten them by margins of 6-5, 9-5, 5-0, and 7-6, battering the Northwest Florida State pitching for at least eight hits in each. Browning, though, brought his best stuff — the changeup, he noted, in particular — when the stakes were highest.

“I was real, real proud of what Brian Browning was able to do,” Martin said. “They can swing the bat. They’ve done it all year long and really it should have been all goose-eggs but I was real proud of what we did today.”

Browning sat down the first six Gulf Coast State batters, carried a one-hitter into the sixth, and limited the Commodores to their lowest scoring output in 40 games.

“I was happy to be on a good note pitching,” Browning said. “My last couple outings haven’t been the best so it feels good to be back in the lower hit column. I really got it going and it felt good tonight.”